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Kidstuff Protocols was written in the spring of 2019 for the University of Montana Tuba and Euphonium Choir as part of their programing for their performance at the 2019 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference held in Iowa City, IA in May of that year. The music is a modern, yet mischievous mashup of 8 references to well known children’s songs - in keeping with that conference’s “Young At Heart Theme. The tunes are separated by connective material meant to provide cohesion to the composition. Each tune iteration has its own unique style and all of them except for The Muffin Man and the cadenza rendering of the “Villa Borghese” should have a sense of high energy regardless of dynamic. Their order of their appearance is as follows:
1) Mary Had a Little Lamb - in hot swing style (with the low tubas serving as percussionists with hi-hat special effects (beat-boxing the vocals into the tuba while crisply slapping the lower right side of the instrument)
2) Camptown Races - partially set as a 3 against 2 hemiola.
3) Nick Nack Paddywack (also known as This Old Man) - set as a brief march.
4) Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - briefly set in the Lydian mode.
5) Children’s theme from I. Villa Borghese of Respighi’s Pines of Rome - set as a cadenza answer to the euphonium cadenza which precedes it.
6) The Muffin Man - harmonized in barbershop quartet (in this case octet!) style.
7) Row, Row Row Your Boat - set in a polyharmonic march style.
8) Mary Had a Little Lamb - recapitulation as in the beginning with more intensity.
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Salutations was written in the fall of 2018 for the “Young At Heart” massed tuba & euphonium choir at the 2019 International Tuba & Euphonium Conference held in late May on the campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. The music is in 6 parts and is intended for lots of players with numbers equally balanced among the parts. It will also work just fine with one on a part. Dynamics and articulations should be very literally observed as the music weaves its way from special “wind” effects into actual playing. The fact of the music being a concert fanfare is only actually musically revealed when we reach bar 56. All music before that should always be played with a leading/forecasting quality - especially beginning at bar 46 and the next 10 bars of music. Bar 56 is marked “Brassy!” and should contrast very much from the preceding music. Bar 60 opens up wide and should be played broadly. A tutti unison, more counterpoint and changes of key also need a terraced ramping up of energy as the music approaches a sort of awe-inspired “Young At Heart” theme (sing those words in your mind and you’ll know what I mean!) which is heard at bar 88 (we first hear it at bar 31). More fanfare gesturing and a brief recap of the introduction bring the piece to a grand conclusion!
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